Are you bored yet? Let Gore Vidal, Giant Spiders, and a Talking Nutcracker Bring Back the Drama

It's the perfect time to offer you the collective joys of live performance. There's plenty of traditional seasonal fare, from pantomimes to replayed fairy tales and the usual glut of Christmas carols, but if you want something a little different, here are five quirky family shows that will entertain and invigorate the spirit.

The ocean at the end of the road

This is a sparkling, adrenaline-filled extravaganza with dark edges. Adapted from Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel, it stops at the Lowry as part of a UK-wide tour. A 12-year-old boy and his friend encounter an alternate world of terrifying monsters in a rural Sussex backwater, from gargantuan spiders to shape-shifting worms. Directed by Katy Rudd and originally staged as an original festival show at the National Theatre, it has moved to the West End in a production with added thrills, spills and spooky bits.

< p class="dcr-1b64dqh">< em>The Lowry, Salford, until January 8

The Nutcracker

No, not the ballet but the all-singing, all-dancing musical, written by outgoing artistic director Tom Morris. While the original 1892 ballet with music by Tchaikovsky is better known, this production, inspired by ETA Hoffman's short story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (on which the ballet's libretto is based), is a Daring musical narrative that captures the adventures of magical toy characters that come to life at the stroke of midnight, including a dastardly Mouse King and a talking Nutcracker. A seasonal show revisited.

Bristol Old Vic, through January 7

Best of Enemies

This fun and fabulously combative drama, which recreates the televised gladiator showdown between American thinkers Gore Vidal and William F Buckley Jr in the run up to the 1968 presidential election is as far from festive food as it gets, but it's also James Graham at his playwriting best, and ideal for anyone who's been witty. Starring David Harewood and Zachary Quinto, the production harkens back to the birth of celebrity-led politics and adversarial TV debate while the excellent television studio set captures the spirit of the 1960s. which will also make brain cells fizz.

Noël Coward